#38: Limp

Marty squinted into the sun to keep track of his falcon. It had been a wobbly start, but once she adjusted to the extra weight on her back, she simply gave her wings greater spread. Mable now climbed with the GoPro securely strapped to her back.

It was going to be breathtaking footage, Marty was sure. He could imagine having Sir David Attenborough narrating her flight, explaining how her muscles use the feathers to maintain flight.

Marty lost sight of her as the low clouds crept in over the marsh.

In a flash, Mable's body fell through the soft underbelly. She tossed and tumbled with no attempt at control.

A sickening feeling descended in the pit of his stomach. The extra weight was too much for her. She didn't understand how the camera would impact on her ability to fly.

He could now see her limp head as the rush of gravity pushed against the soft neck. Minor details became visible. Her feathers shivering as individual pieces and not in unison, the unnatural way her body occupied the sky, falling like a wound up ball of socks.

Marty ran towards her hurtling body. Did he hope to catch her? Break her fall?

He stopped.

He didn't want to hear the wet thud, so he turned away and covered his ears.